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Launching our boat for snorkeling -
I did help push the boat after taking
the photo! |
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Heading to Blue Lagoon in the
motorised outrigger boat |
This morning we arranged to go snorkeling at the nearby Blue Lagoon (actually just off Padang
Bai) with a local guide. We set off around 9am for a 20 minute boat ride to the
lagoon. This took us past the ship terminal at Padang Bai (boats leave from
here to the Gili and Lombok islands) and tied up at a floating buoy in the lagoon -
with a few other similar boats - and under the shadow of an oil storage terminal on the
shore! Within a few minutes the 'parking attendant' paddled up in a canoe and
extracted the parking/diving fee.
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Did Frances enjoy snorkeling?
Is water wet? |
Fitted out with flippers
and snorkels we dropped into the water and began the explore. It was relatively
shallow and rather than a reef, the coral was attached to the rocky bottom. To
attract fish we had plastic water bottles filled with water and some bread with
a pinhole at the top. By squeezing the bottle, little bits of bread squirted
out and we were immediately surrounded by fish. The fish knew what was going on, and
attacked the bottles with great enthusiasm. There were many small varieties of
colourful fish including as the guide said, "Nemo" the Clown Fish made famous in the
Disney movie.
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One of the transport ships to Lombok off Padang Bai harbour.
The oil refinery and Blue Lagoon snorkeling area are behind. |
Unfortunately, without an
underwater camera we weren't able to capture the beautiful colours, nor the
amount of floating pieces of plastic and other detritus floating in the water
as well. We actually wished we'd had a net bag to collect the rubbish as we swam along.
There was also a thin oily film on top of the water in places, from either the
diving boats, oil terminal or ships which slightly diminished the 'coral
reef experience'. We hope that it's cleaner on the Gili Islands.
Nevertheless, Frances, Tamar and I enjoyed the opportunity to spend an hour exploring the coral as
well as the trip there and back in the traditionally based motorised outrigger
canoe.
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| Warung Puspa |
We just wanted a light lunch, so we decided to
get something to take away and eat it at the B&B. There were quite a few
warungs and a supermarket nearby so I picked up a Spaghetti Bolognaise and some
Spring Rolls at Warung Puspa. A number of places serve pasta dishes so I was interested to try
it out. Well, it had some of the basic principles of a Bolognaise sauce,
onions, tomato, vegetables and pieces of meat, but tasted nothing like an Italian
Bolognaise sauce. It was interesting though, and the pasta was actually
spaghetti so overall it wasn't to bad. The Spring Rolls were huge, and we couldn't identify the ingredients very easily, but the flavour and dipping sauce were
fine. We washed it down with a 50/50 mix of Guinness beer and soda water in
another attempt at a Bintang alternative.
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| A loom for weaving the double-ikat cloth |
In the afternoon Frances
and I took a a taxi to the nearby village of Tenganan Pegringsingan.
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Frances examining the double-ikat
gerinsing cloth |
It is one of the villages of
the Bali Aga people who rejected the Javanisation of Bali in the 1300s and the
only area to produce gerinsing cloth - a double ikat cloth that is very
time-consuming to make. Architecturally and culturally though, it is little different form other Bali villages. Village entry is
by donation and a guided is provided to take visitors on a tour of the village.
Unfortunately because preparations for the Galungan Ceremony starting tomorrow,
almost nothing of the weaving process was visible, just some abandoned looms.
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| Detail of food and offerings |
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Women preparing food and offerings for
the Galungan Ceremony |
At the homestay complex where we were staying, the women were preparing
offerings and special foods for the Galungan Ceremony tomorrow.
The Galungan Ceremony on 21 May is one of Bali’s
major festivals and celebrates the return of Balinese gods and ancestors to Bali. For ten days, Balinese families will entertain and welcome family and friends with prayers and
offerings, along with ceremonies to cleanse and balance the inner and outer
energy of the island.
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Detail of Puri Saraswati Penjor pole for the
Galungan Ceremony |
The festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil.
The holiday is celebrated by the fitting of ‘penjor’, tall bamboo poles
on the right side of every house entrance, beautifully decorated with woven coconut palm leaves, fruit, cakes and flowers. People are attired in their finest
clothes and jewels on this day. At Puri Saraswati, they were preparing a
particularly colourful and elaborate 'penjor' as we left, and all along the road to
Candisasa we saw the long bamboo poles by the side of the road being prepared -
by men only.
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| Dewata Agung |
That night after some
deliberation, we decided to eat at the Dewata Agung - it seemed very nice and the tables were away from the road and was situated next to a large lagoon covered in water lilies.
John has developed a hearing problem and is becoming
sensitive to the sound of loud noise. We were the only patrons in the
restaurant the whole evening, and were outnumbered by staff 2 to 1. Although it's
not yet the tourist season, and there are tourists around, business overall
seems quiet. The meal itself was not too bad, Tamar and I both ordering a local
prawn dish with a spicy tomato sauce, vegetables and rice which was very good.
We did however preface the meal with Margaritas and enjoyed out second (and
last) bottle of Prosecco with the meal.
